Shani's Testimony

Before I was saved I felt lost and alone. I had grown up in the church but fell away during and after college. I did everything that they told me not to do. While there were some fun moments, most of the time I felt shame and guilt, knowing that what I was doing was wrong and causing me to be separated from the Lord.

Like when I was interning on the Hill, I went out all the time and met lots of fun girls and attractive guys. I dated all the wrong people and realized I was attracting the wrong people because I was in a bad place. The Lord was with me, protecting me from what should have been terrible consequences several times, but I still felt very far from Him.

After graduate school I moved back to the DC area and found myself more alone than ever. I decided to make church a priority and developed friendships with believers. Slowly I felt the Lord change me from the inside out.

I experienced true belief in Jesus for the first time in my whole life. He started to show up in all areas, changing my desires. I no longer lived in fear and loneliness. I had joy and peace.

Coming back to the Lord didn't mean bad things wouldn't happen to me, it meant the Lord would be with me though anything. For example, when I miscarried my first pregnancy, I was sad and it was one of the hardest things I've ever gone through. But I knew God had good things planned for me and I leaned on Him to carry me through. Less than a year later, my daughter was born healthy. I knew that she was truly a gift from God.

I know that the Lord cares for everyone the way He cares for me. I have confidence that I will spend eternity in heaven with Him.